I dropped in at dance enrichment today and was really impressed by Kaley and Lula from 6v showing the whole group some ballet moves. they demonstrated all the different ‘positions’. Fantastic. Kaley was looking decidedly ‘gangster ballerina’ in her cap. I didn’t try the moves; instead I told the story of when I was 15 and danced with a ballet dancer and stood on her foot. The boys weren’t as openly enthusiastic as the girls, but they liked the idea that male ballet dancers are usually strong and fit. Thanks to Ms Skybäck and the students for showing me their moves.

January 15th and we have been back at school one week now. So much has happened since we had our Christmas break. We have 11 new students in the Secondary School. All interesting students with individual backgrounds and family stories and reasons for being in Sweden and choosing our school. These students come from the Netherlands, South Africa, Brazil, Namibia, South Korea just to name a few. It is exciting talking to the parents and students about our school. I enthusiastically tell about the IB programs at our school, proudly talk about our teachers and passionately talk about education and learning.

Our Secondary school has moved into the new facility next door to our Annexe. It is a modern office style space with lots of colour, small group rooms, wireless network, flexible space and light airy common areas with colorful modern furnishings. We hope we created a young modern feel for the students. It was modeled on a young ‘sassy’ modern company, rather than a traditional school. SO far, the feedback from the students and teachers has been super positive. We are proud of the result.The domino effect for the students in the rest of the school has been noticeable. We have moved some staff members offices, moved some classrooms (including a redesigned Design Technology room) and started the term with new timetables.

Today the Board of Trustees had an information meeting with parents. It was interesting to hear the comments and discussion about our school. The questions touched on many important school questions; How do we measure quality? What is an International School? How can we disseminate information about all the great things occurring at our school? What is the strategic plan for the future? To begin the meeting, the Chairman of the Board officially opened the new Annexe and we shared some canapés and snacks.